When painting a surface, particularly in a trimming context, it is common to apply paint to a work surface in close proximity to another surface, which is either not to be painted or to be painted a different color, for instance. This other surface can be, for example, a window, a raised molding, an intersecting wall, an intersecting ceiling, etc. Various paint applicators exist for performing the trimming function. Such trimming tools have changed little over the years.
Various paint applicators have been devised for performing the trimming function. Paint brushes are one such type of paint applicator. Paint brushes can be inefficient and can be difficult to use to uniformly coat a surface with paint, potentially leaving brush marks or uneven color coverage. Paint brushes can also require a relatively large number of brush strokes to adequately coat an area, which can be time consuming, uncomfortable, and fatiguing to a painter. Furthermore, it can be difficult to control the bristles of a brush, which could result in getting paint on undesired surfaces unless such surfaces are masked. However, masking such surfaces can be inefficient, time consuming, and tedious. Additionally, brushes can have limited paint carrying capacity, which could result in additional time and motion in repeatedly reloading the bristles with paint. Brushes can also be relatively burdensome to clean, but throwing brushes away and replacing them can be relatively costly.
Paint pads are another type of paint applicator for use in trim painting, for instance. In some instances, paint pads can be easier to control than, for instance, brushes to potentially avoid the step of masking surfaces that are not intended to receive paint. Additionally, some paint pads can be relatively cheap to buy, such that a user may be more inclined to throw away the pad to save cleaning time. However, paint pads can be difficult to use to uniformly coat a surface with paint, potentially leaving streak marks or uneven color coverage. Additionally, such paint pads are generally dragged across the work surface to apply paint thereto, which can include overcoming relatively high frictional forces between the pad and the work surface. This can result in a relatively uncomfortable and fatiguing hand motion and can also result in making the paint pad relatively difficult to control, and, in turn, less precise. Additionally, paint pads can have limited paint carrying capacity, which could result in additional time and motion in repeatedly reloading the pads with paint.
Some paint applicators, such as paint pad devices, can include paint reservoirs to limit paint reloading. However, such devices can be larger and heavier than other trimming tools and can be relatively clumsy to use and relatively difficult to control for trimming. Additionally, paint dispensing from the paint reservoirs of the devices can be uneven, sporadic, or otherwise difficult to control or gauge, which can lead to uneven paint coverage. Also, such devices can be relatively difficult to clean and can be fairly expensive to replace. For example, when cleaning such a device, it can be difficult, if not impossible, to completely wash all of the paint from bristles of the paint pad or the reservoir. The remaining paint in the bristles and the reservoir can harden and can lead to decreased performance in subsequent uses.